Advertisement
Advertisement
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has sought to clarify the controversy surrounding the accreditation of Bangladeshi journalists for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026, amid tensions between the global body and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).
Earlier, multiple journalists from Bangladesh reported that their accreditation applications were rejected, effectively barring them from covering the tournament in India and Sri Lanka.
The issue gained prominence after Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the World Cup following their refusal to travel to India due to security concerns.
According to sources quoted by the Press Trust of India (PTI), the ICC is now reworking the media accreditation process for Bangladeshi journalists, following the withdrawal of their national team from the tournament.
“There is a reworking of the process since there is a change in the number of requests and the schedules. The accreditation lists are being worked out accordingly,” ICC sources told PTI.
The sources said the situation for Bangladeshi journalists changed after Scotland replaced Bangladesh in the tournament.
The ICC is reportedly revising the application process and reassessing the accreditation requests based on the new tournament dynamics.
A key point highlighted by the sources is that accreditation numbers are capped by country quota, and the ICC cannot exceed this limit.
“If you go by country quota, you can’t exceed the number beyond 40. The ICC goes by the recommendations of the home board and accordingly takes a call on applications,” the sources said.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) media committee chairman Amzad Hossain confirmed that all accreditation applications from Bangladeshi journalists were rejected.
He also said that the BCB has already raised the issue with the ICC and is awaiting an explanation.
“The decision came only yesterday, and we have sought to know [the details]. An explanation has been requested,” he told reporters in Dhaka.
“This is an internal and confidential matter, but to summarise, we wanted to know why this was done,” he told reporters in Dhaka.”
ICC sources revealed that Bangladesh media members will now have to reapply for accreditation, which will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
READ: U19 World Cup: Pakistan’s semi-final qualification scenario explained
